AN INSPECTOR CALLS

THE Fox is in the little village of Willian in Hertfordshire, near where Sir Laurence Olivier grew up.

His father was the vicar of a parish a few minutes away in Letchworth. I was able to share this with the friendly manager as he showed me to my room. It was news to him and he promised to research it further.

As it happens, the splendid Church of All Saints stands behind this popular converted pub, where there are eight rooms, a large dining room and spacious bar with good beers and extensive choice of gins.

Doubles here (rooms not gins, that is) start at £85. Mine, with a free-standing bath in front of the window, costs £115 and reminds me of a ski chalet: a huge slice of wood as a headboard, wooden clothes rack and decorative logs piled up where the fireplace used to be.

The ‘garden rooms’ have their own patios, albeit opposite the car park.

There’s a Norfolk connection because The Fox is part of the growing Anglian Country Inns group, which explains why Brancaster Staithe oysters feature on the menu. They’re big and bouncy, too.

The friendly and attentive staff are unusually well-informed about what the chef’s got up his sleeve and our Chilean waiter knows a bit about wine. The food is good value (£17.95 for an 8oz rib-eye) and there’s a buzzy atmosphere, but if only the lights could be dimmed and more imaginative art hung on the walls. Breakfast is a la carte, but there’s no yoghurt or fruit on offer.

And it’s annoying to find only yesterday’s newspapers on the rack. Surely a member of staff could pick up the latest editions on the way to work?

The Fox Willian Hertfordshire SG6 2AE Tel: 01462 480233, foxatwillian.co.uk Doubles from £85 B&B